Missing kayaker found dead near Port Everglades

David Lemonds, 47, of Aiken, S.C., was last seen putting his 12-foot yellow… (Coast Guard )

May 25, 2014|By Mike Clary, Sun Sentinel

DANIA BEACH — The body of a South Carolina man missing for three days after he set out in a kayak on a dive trip was discovered Sunday afternoon in the water south of Port Everglades, Coast Guard officials said.

David Lemonds, 48, of Aiken, S.C., had not been seen since he left John U. Lloyd Beach State Park on Thursday afternoon in a bright yellow, 12-foot kayak.

He was intending to dive on an off-shore reef, said his wife, Joannie Lemonds.

Lemonds' body was spotted by a good Samaritan about 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Coast Guard officials in Miami said.

Broward County Sheriff's deputies recovered the body from the water at approximately 2:45 p.m.

Lemonds' body was turned over to the Broward County Medical Examiner's Office, according to the Coast Guard.

The discovery ends a massive search operation at sea by the Coast Guard and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Earlier in the day, Joannie Lemonds was clinging to hope that her husband was alive.

"I hope he is alive and breathing," said Joannie Lemonds, who was in South Florida and met with Coast Guard and Conservation Commission officials Sunday.

"Maybe he bumped into something, or something bumped him," she said. "Maybe he's had an injury that caused him to be disoriented, and he ended up somewhere on land."

Joannie Lemonds could not be reached for comment after her husband's body was found.

Earlier Sunday, Joannie Lemonds said her husband, a mechanical engineer, fell in love with photographing marine life 12 years ago after she gave him diving lessons as a Christmas present.

He had made more than 1,300 dives, and could stay out on the water for hours, said Lemonds. "He played hard," she said.

The Coast Guard was notified of Lemonds' disappearance after National Park Service rangers said Lemonds' truck was in the parking lot overnight Thursday, with no indication that he had returned to it.

Normally, her husband would have a cell phone with him, Joannie Lemonds said. But the phone was discovered his truck, she said.

Joannie Lemonds said her husband was staying in the couple's time share condominium in Weston.

The search for Lemonds extended from Dania Beach to as far north as Jacksonville and east to the Bahamas, Joannie Lemonds said after meeting with search crews.

Taking part in the operation were the Coast Guard Cutter William Flores, a MH-65 Dolphin Helicopter crew, an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft from Coast Guard Air Station Miami, along with a C-130 aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, officials said.